Never Again
by Skye-Blue 101
Summary: What if Jacob found out about the wedding a different way? What if Bella told him, alone? What if he's not the sweet kid everyone thinks he is? Rated T for minor swearing and abuse. Completely Team Edward. One-Shot


**A/N- This is what might of happened if Jacob did not find out about the marriage on the mountain, but if Bella went to tell him herself.**

I didn't know why I was doing this. Was there really a point, or did I just like causing pain? As hard as I tried, I could not come up with a reason for my actions. Pain. Maybe that was it. Could that be my reason? I don't think so. But that's all I do now, isn't it? I just cause pain. It's not right. Not at all. But I can't help it. I love them both so much. Is that wrong? Am I a bad person? In the back of my mind, I can tell that the answer is yes. I am a bad person. A terrible person. But, I just couldn't stop.

It was three p.m. on a sunny Tuesday in Forks. Edward had gone hunting with his family, partly because of the thirst, but also because of the sun, they didn't want to stay cooped up inside all day. It was just a short trip, they stayed close. And Charlie was at the station. He'd been there since six thirty this morning. I was alone, and that was bad. I didn't really want to go, but at the same time, I felt like I had to. I knew that I had hurt him more than I ever intended to. Not that I wanted to at all, but he was hurt more than I thought was necessary.

Against my better judgment, I found myself heading out toward my truck.

I had to see him. To at least apologize. I owed him that much, didn't I?

The road to La Push was one that I knew well. I hardly even had to look at the road. Of course being the chief of police's daughter, I did anyway. The point was that I had memorized this rout quite easily from previous trips. _Previous trips. _That hurt. I was so naïve back then. Well, it wasn't all that long ago, but still. I can remember that right after Edward came back I had come here all of the time. That was why I was coming here today. I needed to stop this. I was hurting Jake by keeping up this friendship when he made it very clear that he wanted more. More importantly, I was hurting Edward. Every time I came out here, I hurt him a little more. He had told me that it was alright, that he had caused this by leaving in the first place, but I knew that wasn't true. It was me; all of it.

I stopped the truck in front of Jacob's small house. The sun shone brightly on it, and I thought of the irony. Such a beautiful day, of course I had begun to enjoy the clouds a lot more since moving to Forks, but that was beside the point. The day was perfect, and I had come here to ruin the dreams of my best friend. I was the perfect angel, wasn't I?

I cautiously exited the truck cab, to stand on the dirt path below. I kept my eyes glued to my feet, afraid that if I looked up, I would understand the magnitude of what I was doing, and turn around. I felt like I was avoiding land mines. Each step was harder than the last. What if when I got to the door, it all blew up in my face?

No. I had to do this. He needed to know.

Before I even reached the front step, the door flew open to reveal Jake. Was it just me, or had he grown in the last two days? I wasn't sure.

"Bella! What are you doing here?" He asked cheerfully. At least he was in a good mood, for now. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad.

"How did you know it was me?" I wondered. When he got to me, he enveloped me in a very large and very Emmett-like hug, though I'd never say it. He would hate to be compared to a vampire.

"You forgot this used to be Billy's truck, remember? I knew it was you the second I heard it coming up the street."

"Oh yeah, I forgot." I stated lamely.

"So what are you doing here?" He asked. "Not that I'm complaining."

"I, um, I really needed to talk to you, Jake."

"Okay. Hey, you want to go out to the garage? You know, for old time's sake?" He asked with a sad smile.

"Alright," What was I doing? This was never going to work. As soon as I set foot in there, the memories will be back, and I'll never be able to do it. Still, I followed him around the small house to his garage. I had spent so much time there with him in the past. God, was he trying to kill me?

He opened the door, and propped it open with a large rock, to let in the sunlight. I walked inside, and headed for an old stool next to Jacob's old car, the Volkswagen Rabbit. He took a seat across from me, on his work bench, with all of his tools behind him.

Suddenly, I was scared. What if he got mad? Would he phase? No, I doubted it. He had control. And there is no way that he could hurt me.

"Jake, there's something I need to talk to you about." I told him.

"Yeah, sure what is it?" He asked with too much enthusiasm.

"I wish there was another way. I don't want to hurt you."

His smile faltered. "It's about _him_ isn't it?"

I nodded meekly. I took my left hand, which I had hidden in the pocket of my jeans, and placed it on my lap.

His eyes zeroed in on it. He was silent for a few seconds before speaking as calmly as possible. "_Please_, tell me that's not what I think it is, Bells." He said quietly.

"Jacob, I came here to tell you that I've made up my mind. It hurts, so much to have to do this. You don't even understand how much I wish I didn't have to do this to you, but I'm marrying him, Jake."

I looked up at his eyes, and saw anger, no, fury color every part of his face. At that point, I knew it was a bad idea to come here, but he had the right to know.

He stared at me with hate filled eyes, and I began to get extremely nervous.

"Jake?" I whispered. No answer. "Jacob?"

"How- how could you marry that- that bloodsucking _monster_?!" He screamed at me.

I had expected him to be mad, to scream, and yell, but I would not stand for this. I would not allow him to insult my Edward.

"He is not a monster! What if someone told you that werewolves are monsters? Then what?"

"We aren't monsters, Bella. We protect people." He tried in vain to calm down.

"But they don't hurt people either Jake! They're only dealing with the hand they've been dealt. They go against their nature to protect humans."

"See? They've completely sucked you in!" And then, my friend was gone. As he finished his little outrage, he lunged forward, and grabbed hold of my shoulders. "Can't you see what they're doing, Bella? It's not right!"

While he shook me around, I became a bit more courageous. "What, and turning into a giant _dog_ is any batter? Are you any less of a monster than he is? If anything, you're worse. He would let me choose, Jake. He would never stop me from getting what I want. He even offered to leave me alone if I decided to be with you, but I can see that offer isn't reciprocated."

He was about to burst. "Oh, so now I'm a DOG?!" With the last word, he stood up, and threw me to the side of the room. My head hurt, and I could smell blood. The tops of my shoulders ached; I could already see the bruises forming.

He began to walk toward me, slowly. "I guess it doesn't matter what I am, does it? Human or werewolf you still choose the _leech_."

"He is not a leech!" I spoke with as much power as I could muster. I was slightly dazed, and disoriented. All I wanted was to go home; to be with Edward.

"Oh, he's not, huh? How about bloodsucking demon? Is that better?" There was an evil, taunting tone to his voice, as he stepped closer.

"Jacob, stop, please." I begged.

"Why should I?" At that he kicked me with so much force that I slid back a few feet, right into the side of a very large metal tool box.

"Because I know that deep down you still care about me." I coughed. "Somewhere in you is the sweet, caring boy that I had known growing up." I was wheezing at the end. "Please just let me go."

I began to bleed through my shirt at the spot where he kicked me. With shock, I realized that his foot landed right over my ribs. With my luck, a few of them would be broken.

He paused, and seemed to mull over my words. "I guess I can't keep you here forever. That would be all the evidence Charlie would need to bust my ass. Don't bother telling him though, he'd never believe you."

I got up with exaggerated slowness, testing to make sure he would not attack me again. As I stood, I became very dizzy, and in my mind I was deciding if my head or my side was the more important issue here. In the end I pressed my left hand to the back of my head, which was sticky with blood, and my right hand to my side, covering my damp, newly scarlet colored tee shirt.

Thankfully, he had spared my legs, so it wasn't too hard to walk. I stumbled outside in a daze, surprising myself by getting to the truck without falling. I wretched open the door, which I had left, unlocked, and gently slid into the driver's side. Out of the rear view mirror, I could see Jake watching triumphantly from the front door. I guess since I didn't agree to be with him, revenge was the next best thing.

I carefully put the key in the ignition, and turned. The sudden roar of the truck hurt my head, which was throbbing. Once I got used to the noise, I eased backwards, and made a u- turn heading out of La Push.

With each passing second, I could feel the pain increase. I just felt like giving up; there was no way I could make it. While these thoughts kept passing through my mind, I didn't realize it, but I was distracting myself. Before I knew it, I could see the treaty line, as clear as if it were a real line, painted across the dirt road.

I sped up, just until I made it to the other side of the line. Though the danger was not completely gone, with Jacob able to come back, I relaxed. Edward could save me. Like always. I carefully, and slowly (mindful of my shoulder, and side) reached for the small glove box in front of the passenger seat, and opened it. Inside, there were only a few things, some notepads and pens, napkins, coupons for the Forks Market, and, my object now, a shiny silver cell phone that Edward had bought me a couple weeks ago. I quickly pressed the number two on the speed dial, the only number in the phone.

After one ring, he answered.

"Hello, Love." He said sweetly.

"Edward." I choked out. It was getting harder and harder to speak.

He was panicked now. "Bella! Bella what's wrong?"

"Come back," I whispered. "I'm at the treaty line. Bring… Carlisle." I managed.

"I'm on my way." He spoke in a hard voice, as if he was afraid to let me know how scared he was.

When he hung up, I tried to toss the phone into the glove box without hurting myself anymore. Of course I missed, and it landed on the floor with a thud.

I fell back against the leather seat, and closed my eyes. It wasn't ideal, not even close, (these seats were uncomfortable as it is, without the painful injury coupled with it) but it would have to do.

As I was sitting there, I began to think. It was mostly about the future. My friendship with Jacob was definitely over. I didn't think I ever wanted to see him again. What about the Cullens? I knew they loved me, and weren't fond of the wolves, so where did that leave them? Would they just be compassionate, and willing to help, or would they be angry that I was hurt? For some of them I could already tell, though I wasn't quite sure. Alice and Emmett would be extremely mad, as would Edward for that matter. Esme, Carlisle, and Jasper would probably be more rational, and think this through, though Jasper might side with his wife and brother in this. Rosalie, I wasn't sure about her. We had recently had a chance to talk, and show each other our point of view on the matter of my change, well just the change itself really. We connected for the first time ever. Whose side would that put her on?

Eventually, I heard the squealing of tires on the road. I opened my eyes, and I could see the Volvo speeding forward. Only Edward and Carlisle were in the car. Good. No one else needed to see this. I wish Edward didn't either, but I needed him here.

I think my thought process was a little slow due to the head injury, because I only just realized that Edward couldn't be here. My blood was everywhere. Was it even possible for him to stop from killing me? I know he told me that he could handle it, but that wasn't very much blood, just a trickle down my arm. This was so much worse.

They were out of the car now, headed straight for me.

"Edward, no. Stay back." I whispered, and even though the door was closed, I could tell that he heard me. I could see the pain on his face. Did he honestly think I rejected him? "Blood, Edward. My blood, everywhere." I told him slowly, my voice still very faint. Suddenly, the pain was gone. This time it was replaced by anger, and horror. Once he calmed down a little, it was easy to tell that these injuries were not because I fell down. He could most likely easily see the boot mark on my crimson shirt.

Carlisle turned toward him, and held a hand up, motioning for him to stay put. Edward nodded once, and Carlisle walked quickly (for a human) to the driver's side of the cab. I unlocked it, and he opened the door.

"Bella! What happened?" He asked while gently picking me up, and carrying me to the back seat of the Volvo.

"Jacob… Black." Was all I was able to say. Edward growled from his spot next to his car. I could tell where this was headed. If I didn't stop him, he would go straight to Jacob's house and beat the shit out of him. "No, Edward. Jake is… Alpha. He… controls them all. You, you'd never… survive." I told him, and a tear rolled down my cheek at the thought.

"She's right, son." Carlisle spoke aloud for some reason.

He walked back to the car, and Edward opened the door for him to place me on the back seat. Once I was in, he turned to Edward.

"Take her back to the house. I'll follow you in her truck. Once I'm done checking her over, I'll clean it up. That will make it a little easier to explain to Charlie." He told his son.

Edward nodded, and got into the car. He began driving slowly down the road, which was odd for him. I'd never seen him go slower than eighty miles per hour. He must be afraid to hurt me. Suddenly, his phone rang. When he picked it up, he spoke through his teeth.

"What, Alice?"

"It already happened." He sounded full of regret.

"We already have her, and are on our way back to the house as we speak."

"It was the dog."

"Yes, come home. We'll be there." After he said this, he hung up the phone, and slipped it in his pocket.

"I- I'm sorry. This… is my fault." I apologized.

"No, it's not. This is all the dog's fault."

"I love you." I whispered, afraid of what he would say.

It was quiet for a moment, and I grew scared.

"I love you too." He said at last.

We drove in silence after that. I was glad that he did not think I had betrayed him by going to see Jake today, even if I went there to end our friendship.

Before I knew it, we were parked outside of the massive Cullen house. Through the rear view mirror, I could see Carlisle leave my truck on the side of the long driveway, and run up to the car. Suddenly, I was in his arms again.

Carlisle turned to Edward. "Edward, stay outside." I whimpered. "Wait for the others."

I could see that he was about to argue. "There's too much blood for you to come in anyway. Just stay here. I won't be long."

He wasted no time getting me to his office.

Once inside, he shut the door, and turned to me.

"I need to know exactly what happened so that I know what to look at." He told me kindly.

"N-no." I stuttered. "He'll hear us." I told him in all honesty. "He doesn't deserve to go through any more pain because of me."

He spoke only for my benefit. "Why don't you go for a run, Edward? I won't be long. Look for the family while you're out."

I knew he would retaliate "Please?" I added softly.

A few seconds later, he spoke. "He's gone. Now, please tell me what happened."

"I realized that I made a mistake." I whispered. I found it much easier to talk that way. "I was stringing Jacob on, making him think that he had a chance. I was hurting Edward. I had to stop it."

He nodded.

"We were talking in his garage. I found it hard to believe that he would hurt me, so I just came out with it, and told him that I am marrying Edward. He, he lost it. At first, he just started screaming. He repeatedly called Edward, and thus your whole family, monsters, bloodsuckers, leeches." I was ashamed of this. The way I had said it made it sound like I was the one calling them those names.

"When I tried to defend him, and you, he reached over, and grabbed my shoulders forcefully. When he did that, I gained confidence; something I now realize was a mistake."

"It wasn't a mistake. You were defending your family." He told me calmly, but I could see the anger in his eyes.

"I started calling him names. I called him a dog, and he lost it. He threw me across the room. I hit my head on a tool box."

Carlisle growled forcefully.

"He walked towards me, and kicked me right near my ribs." As I said this, I began to cry. "He said the only reason he let me go is so Charlie wouldn't have the evidence to throw him in jail." By the end I was sobbing.

"That's about it. I got out to my truck, and managed to drive to the boarder. When I got there, I immediately called Edward."

He tried to stay calm as he responded. "So, just your arms, your head, and your chest?" he asked for conformation.

I nodded.

An hour later, when he was finished, Carlisle called Edward and the family back. When they got to the house, Carlisle left the room, most likely to talk everyone about what happened. I didn't mind if he told them the story, I just hoped their reactions weren't bad. Just after Carlisle was gone, Edward came in, and sat on the couch I was lying on.

He broke down, and I reached out to take his hand.

"Bella, I'm so-" I cut him off.

"If you're going to apologize, I don't want to hear it." I told him with a hint of anger.

"It's all my fault." He mumbled, agonized.

"No. This isn't your fault. I-It's mine. I should never have gone. I- I just felt like I owed him something. Closure. He deserved to know that I was done stringing him along." I paused for a breath. I never knew talking could hurt this much. "But I also did it for you. You try to hide it, but I could see the p-pain in your eyes every time I mentioned going to see him. That isn't right. You- you don't deserve that." I finished.

Our conversation was cut short when the doorbell rang.

"It's your father." Edward told me.

Oh no.

I held my breath as I listened to the heavyset footsteps of my father. They stopped when he got to the door. Two seconds later, and I could see Charlie standing there, his eyes wide at my appearance.

"I'd like to speak to my daughter, _alone_." He emphasized at the end.

Edward left the room silently, trying to be polite.

Charlie cut right to the chase. "Did, _he_ do this, Bella?"

"No, no. Of Course not. I-if you must know, it- it was Jacob. He did it."

"No. I don't believe it for a second! Don't you fucking lie to me Bella!" He hollered.

"I-I'm not lying. P-please believe me."

At that moment, Carlisle walked in. "Chief Swan, I think it's time you leave." He said calmly.

"What? No! I'm not leaving her here!"

"Charlie, this is what she wants." He told him.

Charlie turned to me "Is it?"

I nodded. He looked defeated. "Just, just come home, alright?"

"I-I will, just- just not yet."

He left, then, politely respecting my wishes. I was surprised that he didn't fight it.

The second he was gone, Edward was back, his eyes, pained again.

"I'm sorry." I mumbled.

"There's nothing to be sorry about, just don't do that again." He told me gently.

"Never again." I vowed. He lent down, and kissed me. Then he sat down by my head, and held my hand, afraid to get any closer. And it was true. I would never have anything to do with Jacob Black ever again.


End file.
